Noodle-dough-cutting apparatus.



No. 814,862. PATENTED MAR. 13, 1906. S. MUELLER.

NOODLE DOUGH CUTTING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1905.

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WITNESSES. I

ATTORNEY.

APATBIEIVTBD MAR. 13, 1906. s. MUELLER. A Y NOODLE DOUGH CUTTING APPARATUS.

4 SHEETS.SHEET 2.

APPLIOATION FILED 3111216, 1905.

-|NVENTOR ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES} may. Mm

No. 814,862. v 1 PATENLTED A 13, 1906.

' s. MUELLER.

NOODLE 130mm 011mm APPARATUS.

-APPLIOATIOH TILED JAR. 16, 1905.

4 SHBETEF-SHBET 4.

WITNESSESS I 'INVENTOR,

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$ M. Y MM.

ATTORNEY,

- UNITED STATES PATENT oruion.

SAMUEL MUELLER, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASS-IGNOR TO :0. F. MUELLER AND (30., JERSEYOITY, NEW JERSEY, A FIRM.

NOODLE-DOUGH-CUTTING i APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 1'3, 1906.

Application filed January 16, 1905. Serial No. 241,174.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, SAMUEL MUELLER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and Stateof New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Noodle-Dough-Cutting Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had .to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification The objects, of this invention are to provide a machine for cutting thesheets of paste or dough in the manufacture of noodles, to facilitate handling said sheets in the process of manufacture without sticking together, to

secure a more perfect and uniform treatment of the said sheets without warping or otherwise damaging them, to provide means for cooling the said sheets as well as drying them preparatory tocutting, to thus securea more glossy finish and uniform color in the product, to enable the sheets to be cut automatically I as they leave the drying and coolingmechanism and to. be delivered automatically upon the tray or rack for conveying them to the next machine, to save time and labor, to se cure a cheap and eflicient construction, and

to obtain other advantages and results, some of'which may be hereinafter referred to .in connection with the description of the Working parts.

The invention consists noodle-dough-cutting machine and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially aswill be hereinafter set forth and .finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying-drawings, in which like figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, Figure 1 is-a side elevation of one end portion ofmy improved machine, and .Fig. 2

is-a vertical section as upon line as, Fig. 3, of the remaining portion of the machine. Fig. 3 is aplan of thesaid end portion of the machine which is shown in Fig. 2, and Fig; 4 is a crosssection of the machine upon line y, Fig. 1.

In said drawings, 1 2 indicate suitable upin the improved port the worlq'ng parts of my improved machine, the outer end .ones of the uprights 2 havingatdifferent heights bearings 3for rollers 4, which extend transversely and have rights or standards which are adapted tosup upon themselves drying-belts 5 .5 and .111,

adapted to carry the sheets of paste ordough from which-the noodles are formed. In the drawings I have shown three sets of these rollers and three belts arranged in vertical series one above another, although obviously the number could bevaried, as necessary or desired. Of the belts the lowerone isdriven in the direction shown by the arrow or toward the'cuttingmechanism, so as to receive the doughat the opposite end of the machine from the usual dough brake or roller. The next belt shown is driven in an opposite directionfrom the first, and the top belt again alternates-or travels in the same-direction as thefirst one toward the cutting end of the machine. By this arrangement a man standing at the end of the machine farthest from the cutter and next the dough-brake feeds in the first end or beginning of the sheet or strip of paste from said frame, which end travels the length of the machine to aboy at the other'end, Who guides it onto thenextbelt above, which returns it to' the man and he guides it to the top belt.

When once thus started, the strip runs continuouslyfrom the man at the dough-brake over said conveyerbelts without any attention. I have shown belts 6 7 connecting the said drying-.beltroll- ,ers to 'drive the same, although any other equivalent means could be employed.

vAt the under side of both the upper and lower folds or portions of the bottom belt 5 are arranged hollow heating-plates 9, supported by thestandards 2 and upon which the said belt lies as it travels. The next belt above or second belt is similarly equipped with heat-boxes 10,- and preferablyall said boxes v9 and 10 are connected by suitable pipes or ducts'8 to each other and toa source of. steam-supply, so that theycan be warmed. The sheet of paste thus dries as it travels across the lower warm plate 9 and backward upon the second plate 10, and it will be-noted that the sheet orv strip; turns upside-down asit Ioo passes from one belt to another, so that it The upper belt 11 is in a casing 12, which provides a middle horizontal partition 13, upon which the upper fold of the belt travels, said partition being also perforated, as at 15. No heating means are applied to this top belt but, on the contrary, at one side thereof is located a blower 14, which is adapted to force a current of air into the casing 12, which surrounds the belt 11. This current of air passes both above and below the said belt, and by reason of the said perforations 15 in the partition 13 acts equally upon both sides of the same as well as upon the sheet of p ste carried thereby. The effect at this upper belt is therefore to cool the sheets while further drying them, a damper or regulator 16 being applied to the casing 12 to govern such cooling and drying.

Preferably a second blower 17 is located at the side of the lower drying-belts 5, so as to blow across the same and secure a proper agitation of the atmosphere. This blower may be driven, as shown, by a belt 18 from the upper blower or in any other suitable way.

It will be understood that the sheets or strips of dough or paste upon which my machine works-are not desired to be dried as completely as possible, but, on the contrary, are to be dried as little as possible and yet enable them to be handled in the subsequent operations of cutting, &e.that is, my object is to best prepare the dough or paste for cutting and perform said cutting. The drying herein referred to is not such drying as the noodles are subjected to in the final or finishing steps of their manufacture, but is only a preparation for cutting. The sheets of dough are not dried here any more than just enough to prevent sticking, and the apparatus is designed not only to dry the dough as by the warm plates 5, but also to prevent too much heat and hardening, as by the blowers 14 17. To further reduce the drying necessary, I have provided a construction by which the dough is not handled from the time it leaves the brake until it is all cut, but passes in a continuous strip through my entire machine. Since the dough passes mechanically to the cutter-knife, it does not haveto be so much dried as if it were to be handled by operators. 3

As the sheet of paste reaches the extremity of the top drying-belt 11 it is brushed or freed therefrom by a brush-roller 19 and passes onto downwardly-inclined conveyerbelts 20 21. At the end of said conveyerbelt 21 and above the same is journaled a roller 22, provided with a longitudinal knife 23, projecting at the periphery of the roller, and which knife at each revolution of the roller is adapted to cut off a piece of the sheet of paste coming down the incline. These pieces of paste as they are severed fall onto an inclined apron 24 and slide from thence onto a removable tray 25, stationed upon a table 26 to receive them.

By the machine thus described the noodle sheets are cut in the best possible condition. They will not stick, and yet they are dried out as little as is consistent with cutting. Furthermore, the cutting is done automatically, as well as delivery from the machine.

-Time and labor are thus saved and a perfectly uniform size of the cut sheets secured, since it is done mechanically. Facilities are afforded for regulating and governing the drying steps and keeping the same under close and immediate control, so that with difierent doughs or under different atmospheric conditions the same uniform result is always secured.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is 1. In a noodle-dough-cutting machine, a lower vertical series of drying-belts traveling in alternate directions, an upper belt inclosed in a casing, and a blower adapted to produce a forced draft through said casing.

2. In a noodle-dough-eutting machine, a lower vertical series of drying-belts traveling in alternate directions, an upper belt incloscd in a casing, a perforated partition in said casing upon which the conveying portion of the belt travels, and a blower adapted to produce a forced draft through said casing.

3. In a noodle-dough-cutting machine, the combination with a vertical series of dryingbelts adapted to travel in alternate directions, an inclined conveyer-belt adapted to auto matically receive the sheets from the said drying-belts, and a transverse roller adjacent to said incline having a longitudinally-disposed knife adapted to sever the sheets.

4. In a noodle-dough-cutting machine, a series of drying-belts adapted to travel in alternate directions, means for heating and ventilating the lower belts, and a blower for cooling the upper belt.

5. In a noodle-dough-cutting machine, a series of drying-belts adapted to travel in alternate directions, means for heating and ventilating the lower belts, a blower for cooling the upper belt, an inclined conveyer-belt adapted to receive the sheet from the said horizontal belts, a cutting-roller adjacent to the lower front end of said inclined conveyer, and a table for receiving the cut sheets.

6. In a noodle-dough-cutting machine, a lower vertical series of drying-belts traveling in alternate directions, an upper finishingbelt, a casing inclosing said belt, a blower adapted to produce a forced draft in said casing, regulating means in the walls of the easing, and delivering and cutting means at one end of said finishing-belt.

7. In a noodle-dough-cutting machine, a

5 closing an upper one of said drying-belts, a Witnesses:

Vertical series of drying-belts, heating-plates .In testimony that I claim the foregoing I beneath the folds of the lower of said dryinghave hereunto set my hand this 30th day of belts, a blower adapted to direct a current of December, 1904. air across said plates and belts, a casingin- SAMUEL MUELLER.

blower communioatmg with said casing,and CHARLES H. PELL,

regulating means in the walls of. said casing. RUssELL M. EVERETT. 

